


Sweetener

by caity_ski



Category: FriendSim - Fandom, Homestuck
Genre: Blood, Gen, Gore, Suicide mention, Timeline Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-22 23:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16607855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caity_ski/pseuds/caity_ski
Summary: The first time you see Marvus Xoloto you know instantly that you are supposed to become friends with him. You also know he is dangerous and you should not be around him.  Somehow you are able to withstand whatever spell it is he has over everyone else.  So you try to do everything you can to avoid the inevitable.  But fate has never been on your side and you find - after an emotional breakdown - that maybe Marvus' charm is better earned than you originally thought





	Sweetener

**Author's Note:**

> Marvus' speech is impossible to write.

You keep your eyes straight ahead. Your arms are crossed and jaw clenched. You don’t know how long you’ve been avoiding this, but it must have been weeks at this point. Not that the rest of the world around you reflects that. Each time you’ve avoided, chosen wrong, or died, the time line reset. 

And in each reset Marvus becomes more persistent.

You’ve attempted to keep this meeting from happening with all of your might. The first time you were supposed to go though it, you had panicked when you saw Marvus at the festival.

You’d already been in a bad mood. Having to ride on a shitty scooter for hours with Zebruh was not the best way to get you in the zone of friendship making. 

And then Marvus was there, walking amongst the crowd, drawing their attention and praise. He didn’t look your way but you felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You could tell this was the next person you needed to befriend. But fear prickled through your veins and you were overtaken with the need to run away. So, you did.

You had promptly been hit and run over by a scuttle buddy.

Your conscious regained right before Zebruh called. On instinct you answered the phone and instantly regretted it. When he arrived this time, you turned his offer down and were killed by his scooter. 

The third try you agreed to go but were determined to keep your distance from the stage. Zebruh never paid much mind to what you wanted though and dragged you to the front. You felt like you were going to vomit. 

Zebruh talked the whole time, but you couldn’t bring yourself to pay attention to what he said or what was happening on stage. You were too busy trying to figure out an exit strategy. 

You didn’t get the chance to go for it though. When the lights dimmed, everyone around you began to work themselves into a frenzy. And Marvus was on stage and again you could only feel an all-encompassing fear. You tried to run and were moshed/trampled to death.

You came to, mid step with your phone ringing. You groaned and immediately hung up. Zebruh attempted to call you a couple more times, but you were already moving the opposite direction and trying to determine a safe spot to go. But as you wandered a feral lusus mauled you. You did feel a little cheated to have to go through a mauling death again. 

You went with Zebruh the fifth time but told him right away you weren’t partaking in his plan and sat apart from him. He was not happy and attempted to make a scene. When that didn’t work, he switched to guilting you. But by this point you’d had enough of Zebruh’s bitching and felt no remorse leaving him to whatever fate awaited him in the crowd. 

You stood at the edge of the festival, arms crossed, as you kept a great distance between yourself and the stage. When Marvus came on and began his set you did your best to stay. Your limbs were not happy about it though. It felt like there was electricity zapping through your muscles every time his face was facing your direction. You had your jaw clenched and were holding yourself tight. The fear that had started as a tingle in the back of your neck had morphed into your stomach do full blown back flips while your body shook. 

You were on the verge of a panic attack, something you hadn’t really had to deal with since Boldir (so not long ago, speaking linearly). At some point your nerves got the better of you and you dropped to your knees. You struggled to breath but were unable to take your eyes off the stage. Marvus’ voice resounded from the speakers that surrounded you and the music thudded in your chest, even at your distance. You could hear and see the crowd literally tearing itself apart. It was all too much. 

You stood, ready to bolt, you had to get out of there. As you passed through the balloon wrapped arch you heard Marvus stop rapping and in an almost defeated voice you heard “Fxxk, u really gunna try dat runnin sheet, again fam?”

You stopped and turned in utter confusion. He was staring right at you now, and the other attendees seemed to be slowly following his line of sight. They did not seem pleased that the music had stopped, interrupting their revelries.

There are suddenly too many eyes on you, there was an anger perpetrating the air and it was all centered on you. Marvus was watching but you were too far to see his expression. And you didn’t want to wait around long enough to find out what he meant or for the crowd to decide to come after you. 

You ran. 

You got pretty far too. No scuttle buggy this time. You even had a chance to sit and breath. You were still about 3 hours and 45 minutes from anywhere but you were away from the show. You puked.

Marvus’ words echoed over and over again in your head. Marvus had said again. He asked if you were running away again, as in, he knew you had run away before. As in Marvus knew that this was not the first time you had been there. You weren’t sure what the full implications of that were. 

Your palm husk went off and you saw a message from Marvus. It was a frowny face. You blocked the number and out of nowhere a bolt of lightning struck you to death.

The sixth time you reset you had a notification on your palm husk before Zebruh’s call came in. It was from Marvus. You promptly blocked the message without reading it. Zebruh called and you answered but left before he could show up. 

You turned your palm husk off and went to the library. You spent a while researching Marvus, you didn’t want to have to face him again without something you could use. Anything would be better than the nothing you currently had.

Unfortunately, you didn’t get much. There was a lot out there about Marvus, interviews, videos, him winning Slam or Get Culled, and his music of course. But none of it meant anything to you. He was actually really hard to understand when he was speaking. His music wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t really your taste and the lyrics didn’t resonate with being “subversive” or “borderline revolutionary” in your opinion.

You huffed a little and leaned back in your seat. You tried to think of who would be able to give you any information on this guy. The hard truth was that he was a famous high blood. You doubted any one you knew would know anything about him. Well Zebruh seemed to know some things about him, but you’d blown him off this run and doubted he would want to talk to you about anything for a while. Which was fine.

You considered Boldir for a moment but didn’t feel you were ready to face her yet. Despite being successful you still had nightmares about her face losing color and the light leaving her eyes. You thought Mallek may be a good choice – he knew how to get into the mainframe or whatever. You shook that thought away with a hot flush, however. You didn’t want to talk to him about someone else, you didn’t want him getting the wrong idea.

Your chittr profile let out a ding before popping up on screen. You squinted at the monitor. You hadn’t opened chittr, and you certainly hadn’t signed into it. There was a message from a purple blood named Rapsta Slamzy. You hate this planet. Before reading what was sent you looked through his page. He appeared to be a musician as well, he had a decent following and…yep right there. He was friends with Marvus. There was a photo of them after a show. You vaguely recognized him from some of your earlier routes. You frowned but read the message. 

[/\/\4rvuzz zz4id he /\/\izzzzed u @ deh zzhow. \/\/4ntzz 2 hook u up wit tix 2 deh next 1. Zzayzz u zzhould cum bih.]

You had to re-read it a couple times, it was hard to make out because of the quirk, but you got the gist of it. You had a choice here. You’d successfully created a new time line, one you may be able to avoid dying in, for a bit longer at least. 

You responded to the message saying you’d be there. You told him to send the tickets to one of Mallek’s fake addresses. You had no intention of going, but you hoped that if you at least agreed you’d have more time to figure shit out.

After sending the message you blocked Rapsta, and anyone else who was being followed by Marvus.

You spent the next few days in front of monitors. You researched and gorgled and everything else you could think of to try and find a way around having to be this guys friend. You didn’t want to and you weren’t going to let fate force anything on you anymore. Maybe.

The day of the show you got a notification that you were mentioned on chittr. You frowned when you saw it was Marvus. He’d sent out a reminder of the show with some line about how excited he was to see you. He was blocked so you weren’t sure how he could be @-ing you. 

You huffed and unblock him for a moment. You typed a quick a reply saying: [sorry something came up can’t make it.] and blocked him again. You also couldn’t help but post a vague call out about people who think that because they’re rich or famous they can tell others what to do. 

It was a little juvenile but you felt better after it.

A little while later your palm husk began buzzing. You groaned but were surprised to see it was Chixie. You weren’t exactly in the mood to chat but answered anyway, she was a good person and pretty down to Earth…Alternia…whatever. 

You smiled as her grinning face appeared on your phone screen, it had been comforting to see someone familiar. For a moment at least.

“Thank you so much! I can’t believe you know Marvus and told him about me!” She gushed with an unrecognizable amount of excitement.

You could feel your face drop and stuttered out an apology. You tried to tell her you didn’t know what she was talking about. 

Chixie cut you off though with a laugh and shake of her head. “You don’t have to pretend anymore! Marvus told me everything! I’m so nervous! I’ve never opened for someone like _him_ before.” Chixie appeared to be walking quickly around her hive. “Oh man…what do I wear? Should I try to dress up or would it be better to look humbler? What should I put on the set list??” She continued. It seemed Chixie was completely unaware of the panic that was etched on your face. 

“You don’t, you don’t have to do this.” You told her, attempting to dissuade her. 

Chixie laughed. “I appreciate it, but I do have to do this. It could completely change my life!”

You weren’t sure why but you could feel tears pooling in your eyes. You didn’t want to ruin your friend’s career but you also didn’t want to go to that show. Even more than that you didn’t trust that Chixie wouldn’t get hurt. You doubted she knew the carnage that followed one of Marvus’ shows.

“I think it’s a bad id-” you started but were cut off again by Chixie.

“Oh, I have to figure all this out. I am so nervous! I’ll see you at the show! Bye!” Chixie hung up leaving you with a sinking feeling of dread. 

You considered not going for a moment but knew if something happened to Chixie and you weren’t there to prevent it…no number of resets would help you forgive yourself. 

And that lead you to the entrance of a concert venue. You didn’t have tickets with you as you didn’t actually give a real address for them to be sent to. You figured you’d try your luck at the ticket counter and lo and behold there was a ticket there for you. The ticket person let out a low whistle as they handed you a lanyard with a laminated card on it. 

“VIP, that musta cost a lot, or you got real good friends.” They commented. You shrugged and read over the pass. You frowned a bit. You had been admitted back stage access, early seating, a private box, and catering. You groaned and rolled your eyes. You had one goal for tonight and that was to keep Chixie safe. 

You went to the doors, flashed your pass and heard a few jeers and hisses from those you were able to by-pass with it. You were brought to the backstage area and directed to Chixie’s room. You knocked lightly and alerted her to your presence. The door was flung open quickly and you were pulled into the tightest hug of your life. 

Chixie was bouncing up and down as she held onto you. “Thank you thank you thank you!!” She shouted.

You couldn’t help but laugh, she was really cute and it had been nice to see her so excited and full of joy. “Yeah…I literally didn’t do anything.” You told her. 

Chixie laughed and playfully slapped your arm. “Come here! Look at this dressing room! Can you believe it? Here what do you think of the set list I’ve chosen? What about this outfit is it ok?” Chixie handed you a sheet of paper and walked over to the pile of clothing she brought.

You smiled and chatted with her as she got ready, giving your input as she prepared. It was nice to get to sit with her but there was a building dread in your stomach. She would have to go on stage soon. She would be open and vulnerable, you doubted the bouncers would give a shit if people tried to climb up and kill a low-blood. 

You bit your lip. You wouldn’t be able to help her. And on top than that you still had to figure out how to avoid meeting Marvus. 

Chixie’s stage call came sooner than either of you had anticipated. 

Chixie was full of nervous energy as she took your hand and lead you to the stage entrance. She was bouncing on the tips of her toes, almost jumping as she waited for her cue. Chixie all but ran out onto the stage when her name was announced. 

Your heart beat was hammering in your chest as you watched her leave the safety of the dark. The crowd sounded confused but there were a few scattered cheers, more boos unfortunately. 

You watched as Chixie shook it off and began her set. Chixie certainly had good energy and talent. Her stage presence was not the greatest but you could see her trying to make up for it with sheer showman ship. 

And that seemed to work, for a while at least. At some point during her third song things started going wrong. Objects were being thrown at the stage. They weren’t nice things either. The crowd seemed to be turning on Chixie. There were shouts of anger and some loud threats. 

You watched Chixie continue to sing her heart out, trying to ignore the harassment. She made eye contact with you and you give her a thumbs up and an attempt at a large smile. This seemed to rejuvenate her but your anxiety was peaking. There were louder shouts, people were starting to throw actual weapons on stage now. 

Chixie backed up from the front a bit in an attempt to avoid the onslaught. You could tell she wasn’t sure if it was better to continue or to stop. You wanted desperately to call out and tell her to come back. You wanted her to be behind the curtain with you. You wanted the two of you to get the hell out of there. Things were going to be getting dangerous fast.

But before you could wave for her to come to you, your eyes caught a glint of gold from the other side of the stage. Marvus was watching you from across the performance area and grinning widely. He waved enthusiastically at you. Your hands clenched the thick fabric of the curtain beside you and you felt your body going into flight mode. 

You watched Marvus whisper something to a guy beside him and head to the back. He was going to walk across behind the curtain to get to you. He was coming for you when you were totally alone. 

There was a rush of adrenaline in your muscles and as you turned to run you heard Chixie scream. Your eyes snapped to the stage and just as you had predicted, there was no protection for her when an indigo ran onto the stage weapon brandished. 

The music was cut off abruptly and it seemed to trigger something in the crowd. Several others clambered onto the stage and made their way for Chixie who was attempting to dodge them. You snapped when you saw a knife get plunged into her arm. The adrenaline coursing through you came in handy as you ran from your safe spot, heart beating hard. 

“STOP! STOP GET AWAY FROM HER!!” You screamed rushing the stage and doing your damndest to push the high bloods away from Chixie. None seemed to be persuaded by you, however, and instead dug their weapons into you as well. 

You felt a spear stab through your middle and a violent spurt of blood forced itself from your mouth. You were able to grab Chixie and tried to use your body as a shield to protect her, but in the end the weapons pierced both of you. You sat huddled around Chixie and attempted to just take the assault of attacks and injuries. 

There were a lot of sounds. There was shouting and yelling and cursing. You could hear weapons clashing and bones breaking. It seemed for a moment the frenzied fans were more interested in tearing each other apart than you and Chixie. 

You tried to stand and pull Chixie away. She had stopped moving and the brown of her blood mingled with your red making a deep maroon. Your legs had been badly cut up and your middle was bleeding profusely. You could only conclude you were still alive because the spear was not pulled out of you. 

You weren’t able to move far but you certainly made it away from the fray by a few inches. You held Chixie close and became acutely aware that she was no longer breathing. 

A scream ripped its way from your throat and you buried your face in the soft fabric of Chixie’s sweater dress. The sobs raked your body even as you could feel consciousness fading. 

A cool hand on your shoulder brought your attention back to the real world and your eyes met Marvus’. You let out another guttural scream and retched your shoulder from his grasp, choking on the blood that came up due to your movements. “Don’t _fucking_ touch me.” You sobbed. 

Marvus appeared a bit taken aback, but he removed his hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but you cut him off. “No! No, you don’t get to talk to me!” You yelled, breathing heavily and trying to keep from coughing, knowing it would just put more blood in your mouth. You were already struggling to breathe around the thickness of it pooling on your tongue. The taste of copper was overwhelming. In a last attempt at rebellion you spat your mouth full of gore at Marvus. 

“Don’t you ever fucking involve any one else again.” You hissed, holding Chixie’s rapidly cooling body close to you. Marvus didn’t seem to know what to do. He looked almost annoyed watching over you as you bled out. You did hear him mutter, “It’ll go betta nex time,” before you finally passed.

This brought you to reset seven. You were brought back to the phone call with Zebruh. You didn’t answer him but did send a message to Marvus. You told him you would only meet him somewhere public. It had to be during peak operating hours. You would pick the spot. 

So here you sit. Waiting at the table closest to the door. You purposefully chose a place that was in the low-blood area. You felt safer here than around high-bloods. 

And while a public spot wouldn’t be super easy for Marvus considering his fame, you didn’t care. Part of you – most of you – wanted him to be uncomfortable. You were now certain he knew something about the resets. And you blamed him for what happened to Chixie last time. You were not going to be pleasant. 

You watch as a long limo pulls up to the restaurant and roll your eyes. It seemed like a less conspicuous entrance would have made more sense. The small café is suddenly rushed by indigo bloods demanding the few other patrons leave. There’s shouting from the people behind the counter.

You frown a bit as this defeats the purpose of picking this spot to meet, but you stay quiet. Normally you would be upset by this display of obvious hierarchical bullshit, but you’re too tired now. You don’t care what has to be done just as long as you can get out of this loop.

The indigos clear out almost as quickly as they arrived and stand outside the entrance. A few go to open the limo door and act as escorts for Marvus as he leaves the safety of the limo. It is almost instantaneous, the crowd that surrounds him.

You are annoyed that this is prolonging your meeting but find some enjoyment in how obnoxious all that attention must be. But despite autograph after autograph request, Marvus holds onto a pleasant smile. 

The body guards eventually are able to beat a path so Marvus can get into the restaurant. He grins widely at you, something you cannot bring yourself to return. Your attention is taken by movement near the window. The indigos have all lined up outside, forming a barrier around the place.

“You don’t need your dogs in here?” You ask, your voice far from kind.

“Ain’t worried abt a buddy comin after me. Tbh u don’t look like u could handle ur self inna fite.” He smiles for a moment. “Marvus Xoloto, but u no dat already. U wuz the 1 dat sent the message.” Marvus held his hand out to you to shake. You hold tightly to the mug in your hands for a moment before acquiescing and return the gesture. His skin is cold against yours and it sets your veins on fire. 

Marvus’ grin widens and he takes the seat across form you in a fluid movement. The chill lingers where the contact had been made. And with it all the memories of your failed attempts and the fear, you’d been able to cover up with anger, was creeping back upon you.

“I’m not really into playing this game.” You inform Marvus, watching him with tensed muscles. “I’ve gone through this loop too many times to let it fail again.”

“Been thru wat? LMAO wat the hell u talkin abt cuz?” Marvus responds, his smile staying light and easy. You try to focus on his face, you really do, but he made it a challenge. You wish he had put on a sweater or something. It was hard to concentrate with his chest just _there_ like that.

“I don’t have the patience for you to sit there and act dumb. Start talking, because if I don’t get the answers I want then, well…I mean I’m willing to reset again. Maybe another two runs so I’ll have gone through all nine circles of hell.” You growl. 

To your surprise Marvus laughs. “Dam, u a crazy mfer.”

You glower at Marvus, but his smile remains in place. It’s infuriating. “How do you know about the resets?” You demand. You don’t want to beat around the bush, the sooner you complete this the sooner time can move forward again.

Marvus hummed and leaned back in his seat. “Well I ain’t got all the gumption up on to how dey be workin but I guezz I could jus tell wen sumthin wuz wrong, u no? Leik dere wuz a lil voice in my head dis morn tellin me sumthin is happenin and I gotta try and get workin on makin that lil alien fxxkr my buddy. I don’t know how many timez we been thru dis sheet, but I no it ain’t the first.” 

“But you knew I was running away from the festival again.” You shot back

“Oh dam! U did go to deh show? Wat didja think? I mean it ain’t even happen yet.” Marvus leans in closer now, his smile is somehow bigger than it was. 

You roll your eyes. “Not what we’re talking about right now. Focus please.”

Marvus laughs again. “U rite, u rite, my bad lil homie.” He takes a moment and leans back again striking what appears to be a thinking pose. “It wuz a guess probably,” He repeats with a shrug, “I ain’t got no memories of it.” 

The more he talks the more your anger is overtaking your fear. It disgusts you that he can appear so laid back when so much torment happened. You don’t believe he doesn’t have memories of it, and even if he is telling the truth now, that doesn’t excuse him in your mind.

“My friend died because of you.” You shoot venomously at him.

Marvus’ smile finally falls from his face and you feel a small victory. It returns moments later, a bit sheepishly this time as he rubs the back of his head. “Aw man, I’m real sorry abt dat but u no erybody dat comez 2 a show iz gunna end up dedd.”

You groan and press the palms of your hands into your eyes. “NO! No, she didn’t go to the show she…” You take a breath and sigh. “Never mind…it doesn’t actually matter. It happened last time. She’s fine now.” You clench and unclench your jaw, your eyes are starting to sting but you keep them pressed into your hands, it makes you feel safe. 

You take a shaky breath but don’t look up. “I’m sorry, it’s not fair of me to lash out like this…it’s just all this going back in time and having to change things and dying and-and I tried _so_ hard to tell fate to fuck off because…because I don’t want to be your friend.” Your voice breaks at this and you bring your knees up, heels perching on the edge of your chair so you can better hide your face behind your legs. 

“I don’t know why we have to do this, I just wish we didn’t.” You whisper. “And I’m just so angry and full of grief and you didn’t do anything to her. She died because of me, because I won’t just do what I’m supposed to and I just…I just wish one of these deaths would stick.” The last word you utter with a sob. You’re shaking now and the tears are falling freely down your cheeks. 

Your breathing is ragged and your face is flushed. Your throat feels like it’s closing up and you wish, not for the first time, to just disappear from this miserable planet. You’re startled out of your self-pitying thoughts when you feel Marvus wrap his arms around you, holding you securely against him. His chin rests on the top of your head. He doesn’t say anything, just holds your shaking form and gently caresses your hair.

In all the imaginary scenarios you played out in your head, this certainly wasn’t one of them. You weren’t even sure how to respond. So, you didn’t think about it. You just acted on impulse and gripped his jacket tightly, burring your face into his arm and sobbing. You hadn’t let yourself have a chance to cry in a long time. 

You’re not sure how long you stay like that, clutching to Marvus like a life line as you work through this emotional break. Marvus doesn’t rush you though. He doesn’t say anything and doesn’t move – even when you’re pretty sure your fingers are digging into his arm. He does occasionally give you a tighter squeeze or rub your head but otherwise he acts as a cool blanket for you.

“I’m sorry.” You finally choke out. You chuckle a bit as you wipe your eyes. “I’m so fucking sorry, Jesus I’m an embarrassment, fuck.” You mutter.

Marvus takes your hands from your face finally and wipes the remaining wet streaks from your cheeks. “U ain’t gotta apologize lil buddy.” His voice is quiet now. “A homiez gotta ask tho, y u ain’t wantin 2 b dere brohime.” 

You take a moment to swallow the last of your sadness down. “You terrify me…or you did? I don’t know how to explain it, but every other time I saw you there was like, an alarm going off in my head telling me you were dangerous.” You respond, your voice barley above a whisper. 

Marvus grins. “Well u ain’t wrung abt dat.” He responds with a wink. “But I’m only gunna b layin damage on those mfrs wat deserve it, u hear me? U ain’t got nethin 2 worry abt bcz dis biznatch always takes care a dey buddies, buddy.” He ruffles your hair a bit. “So, if ur gud I am too, rite? We gravy?” He asks, his hand still perched on your head and grin firmly in place.

“You’re not mad at me? You actually want to be my friend?” You ask skeptically.

“Only if u’ll b mine.” He says with another wink. 

You can’t help but roll your eyes. You suppose you could only avoid his charm for so long. “Fine,” you mutter. “We can be friends.” 

Marvus’ smile widens and he stands offering a hand to you. “Dope! Den we betta shake a leg fam, gunna b late for deh show. I’ll get u a V.I.fxxkin P spot to watch from. Make sure ur well taken care of and ain’t no one gunna bother u, babe.” 

You can’t help but laugh when you take his hand, while he helps you up from the chair. Your legs are stiff from being curled up so tightly. “Alright, but if anything happens to me, you’re going to be sorry.” You jokingly threaten.

Marvus lets out a loud laugh. “ofc.” He says with a wink, his fingers lacing with yours. 

Once standing you fully realize how tall he is. It takes you three steps to match up with one of his. If you’re going to hang out with this guy it’s going to be like cardio the whole time. Marvus seems to notice and chuckles, slowing his pace. 

“For wat it’s worth, I’m hella turnt those deaths not stickin.” Marvus tells you with a smile. He doesn’t let go of your hand even as the indigos open the limo doors and you both get in.


End file.
